IT'S HALLOWEEN, THE SEASON OF GHOSTS, GOBLINS, AND POLLSTERS? IT'S WORKED OUT THAT WAY THIS YEAR, WITH TWO POLITICAL POLLS BEING RELEASED IN LATE OCTOBER, BOTH OFFERING SOME INSIGHT INTO THE COMING ELECTION YEAR. LAST WEEK, WE LEARNED THE RESULTS OF THE ST. NORBERT/WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO POLL, AND TUESDAY, THE LATEST MARQUETTE LAW SCHOOL POLL COMES OUT. ARE THE FINDINGS OF THESE SURVEYS LIKELY TO BE KEEPING WITH THE SEASON -- THAT IS, SCARY FOR CANDIDATES AND POLITICAL PARTIES? WELL, SCARY MAY NOT BE THE RIGHT WORD, BUT THE POLLS DO OFFER A WINDOW INTO THE WORLD OF WISCONSIN VOTERS AND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THE ECONOMY, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN WASHINGTON, THE DIRECTION OF THE STATE AND COUNTRY, AND CANDIDATES OR POTENTIAL CANDIDATES. FOR POLITICIANS, THE POLLS, ALONG WITH INTERNAL SURVEYS, CAN BE A BLUNT REALITY CHECK, AND CAN HELP DETERMINE MESSAGING AND CAMPAIGN FOCUS. ESPECIALLY NOW, THAT WE'RE ONLY ABOUT A YEAR AWAY FROM THE NEXT MAJOR ELECTIONS IN WISCONSIN. SPEAKING OF WHICH, NOT EVERYONE IS READY FOR THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE. STACI, ONE OF MY TWITTER FOLLOWERS, SENT ME THIS MESSAGE RECENTLY, "DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO START TALKING ELECTIONS ALREADY? IS THAT REALLY NECESSARY? GUESS I WILL BE WATCHING DVD'S FROM HERE ON OUT. HASH TAG, CAN'T STAND ANOTHER POLITICAL CAMPAIGN." I'M MIKE GOUSHA. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US TODAY. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU, AND EVEN STACI, AGAIN, NEXT WEEK, ON "UPFRONT." X YOU CAN SEE TODAY'S PROGRAM ON OUR WEBSITE. JUST CLICK ON THE "UPFRONT"